After a weekend like this past one, when there were so many performances of note, I think it’s worth reminding you of this article’s intent so that your cries of “Why not?” and “How come?” don’t drown out the analysis.
Not every good performance raises a player’s stock, and not every bad performance lowers a player’s stock. I think most people, on a fundamental level, understand this and, thus, understand that identifying the best and worst performances from the weekend wouldn’t fit the intent of a Stockwatch article. Identifying the most meaningful performances, whether for good or bad, would be.
Even if you understand this, though, your Fantasy rooting interests might take over. If you’re hurting (boo!) or reveling (yay!) over something one of your players did, you may turn to an article like this one to “feel seen.” But that’s not the intent.
Some notable omissions …
- Pablo Lopez struck out 14 over eight shutout innings at Oakland Sunday. It was great and much needed after the way his recent outings had gone, but had I lost faith in him? Not really, so this performance doesn’t really move the needle for me.
- Dylan Cease wasn’t able to make it through five innings against the Brewers Friday, capping an eight-start stretch in which he has put together a 6.43 ERA. But the walks are still under control, and the strikeouts are still amazing. Whatever is off isn’t so far off as to think he’ll never get it back, and I think downgrading him would be foolish.
- Luis Severino had 10 strikeouts and 14 swinging strikes in his six shutout innings at the Cubs Sunday, both representing season highs. But the pitch selection and pitch characteristics weren’t remarkably different. He’s reinvented himself as a ground-ball pitcher this year and should maintain a respectable ERA, but there’s no reason to think the strikeouts will become a trend.
Maybe after a less eventful weekend, those three performances (as well as several others) would have made the cut for this article, but they just didn’t move the needle as much as the ones I’ve identified here.
And hey, I’ve mentioned them anyway, so you can come away feeling like you’ve been seen. Everybody wins!
